BizTravelers.net Blog

BizTravelers.net is not your typical travel blog. This site is based in reality for the average road warrior and will include reviews and information related to various travel experiences. I am also passionate about travel hacks that use technology and gadgets that make life on the road a bit more tolerable.

As you might recall if you are a long-time reader, I am currently MVP Gold 75K with Alaska, Platinum with American and Platinum with Delta. If you are a regular reader, you might recall that I am concentrating more of my flying with Alaska this year because of the very generous 125% bonus miles based on miles flown. All makes sense except for two complicating factors for me:

I have actually flown less this year than I did last year.

I was greedy and wanted to use some of my American 500-mile upgrade passes since I had accumulated quite a few.

Traveling fewer miles for work is not something that I can do much about. According to my Tripit profile, I have only traveled 82,500 miles. As we enter fall, I have some flying to do to get my numbers up (via mileage runs and also work travel looks pretty busy for the next few months).

But here is my error that you can learn from: don't be greedy. I thought that since I had so many American 500-mile upgrades to burn before I am no longer Platinum, I thought I should use up. The problem is that every time I was flying American and trying to use the upgrades up, I did not make the cut to even have the privilege of using my upgrades. Yes, that is right, I flew Main Cabin Extra and did not even get the opportunity to use my 500-mile upgrades. I could have credited those flights toward Alaska Air (especially before American went revenue on us mid-year.

So what are the consequences of my greed? I have some catching up I have to do on Alaska Air. I am not going to be just Gold with them for next year (which I am qualified for), so I will take the necessary flights to keep my MVP Gold 75K. That 125% bonus on Alaska Air is just too alluring for me to ignore.

BizTravelers.net

BizTravelers.net is not your typical travel blog. Most business travelers do not fly all premium cabins every time they are in the air. Additionally, most business travelers do not always stay in top notch hotels in every city. This site is based in reality for the average road warrior and will include reviews and information related to various travel experiences. I am also passionate about travel hacks that use technology and gadgets that make life on the road a bit more tolerable.

This site is intended to be interactive so please share your thoughts and experiences as well.

James Province is a Microsoft trainer that travels around 150,000 miles per year.